COMPLIANCE OF MAIZE MEAL TO FOOD SAFETY AND FOOD FORTIFICATION STANDARDS AT MARKET LEVEL IN KENYA

Abstract

Food fortification is the addition of micronutrients to foods. It is one of the interventions for the prevention and control of micronutrients deficiencies in Kenya. This study aimed to determine the compliance levels of maize meals to the national aflatoxin thresholds and the food fortification standards in Kenya. Maize meal samples (597) were obtained from local markets outlets in 10 Counties which were purposively selected based on the high number of millers and high consumption of maize meal. The collected samples were sorted by brands and duplicates identified using batch numbers. Randomly selected samples of diverse brands per county, which were representative of theanalytical lot, were homogenized using a blender before drawing the analytical sample. A total of 312 analytical samples were prepared. Samples were analyzedfor aflatoxin using Elisa, vitamins A and B complex using HPLC and minerals using AAS.Overall, 14.4% of the maize samples had total aflatoxin levels above the safety threshold of10ppb, with some samples having very high levels (>100ppb). Kiambu County had the highest (29.8%) number of samples with aflatoxin content above the maximum threshold. Overall compliance to maize fortification standard was at 28.0%. Kwale County had the highest compliance to fortification standards at 38.9% while Kisumu County had the lowest (20.8%). Compared with earlier surveillance done by the Ministry of Health in 2017, there was an improvement in compliance to fortification standards from 16.0% to 28.0%. Aflatoxin was detected across the 10 counties as an indication of food safety concerns. Compliance with food fortification standards is still low despite all the efforts put by both government and its partners. There is a need for concerted efforts to understand the main causes of the low compliance levels to develop targeted strategies for mitigation.